A World We No Longer Know
by VanillaPress
Summary: As an important friend escapes their lives, Inaba's Investigation Team must learn to face the most painful truth they have ever known.
1. A Task Only You Can Do

"Welcome to the Velvet Room."

Despite not being fully awake, I still somehow managed to recognize that voice. Despite it having been a couple of years since I heard it last, I still somehow managed to recognize that voice. The voice belonged to the long-nosed master of the Velvet Room, Igor.

"I understand that you must be confused right now. After all, it has been quite some time since you visited us last."

The Velvet Room looked the same as it did three years ago. A limousine, with a strikingly blue interior, once again on an endless journey forward, with the residents not knowing (or fully knowing, but keeping quiet about it) when it will stop. It was indeed a very nostalgic scene, but as always, I feel conflicted entering this place again.

On one hand, the Velvet Room always makes me feel somewhat safe and secure. Perhaps one of the causes of that is how time outside has no place in here, so a 'guest' could spend as much time as they want in here (to be deep in thought or to calm oneself down, for example) without any thought of immediate outside world matters. On the other hand, the only time I find myself in the Velvet Room is when I need the help of its residents; in other words, only when I, my friends, or the world, is in danger.

It's been three years since I entered it last, and four years since I entered it first. But I can still remember every bit of it and its residents, every conversation we've shared, every Persona I created. I also remember that both the times I had access to the Velvet Room were also times of great distress; them being the Inaba Murder Cases that happened while I was spending a year of high school there, and the whole P-1 Grand Prix fiasco that happened shortly after. Thinking about the P-1 Grand Prix reminded me of Sho for a moment, since I never really did get to see him again after he left promising to kill me someday.

"Hello again. Allow me to apologize for never having come to see you."

This familiar voice did not come from Igor. As usual, to Igor's left was the gold-eyed, silver-haired Velvet Room attendant, Margaret. She had the small, secretive smile on her face she always has, but she looked genuinely happy to see me again. I felt the same way too, although I did my best not to show it on my face. She must've caught on, because I could see her smile widen a little as I thought that. Before either she or I could say something, however, Igor continued.

"I sincerely hope that you've enjoyed the life you lived so far. However, there is one important matter that we have to discuss."

I saw Margaret's smile darken a little from the corner of my eye, and only then did I notice that there was another figure to Igor's right. It was another familiar figure, one I met during the course of the P-1 Grand Prix. I could recognize her anywhere, because despite looking a lot like Margaret, as for some reason she seems so much stranger. Maybe 'out-of-place' would be the correct term here.

"I see you have finally noticed me," said Elizabeth. "How do you do? Still working hard?"

Elizabeth's lively demeanor lightened up the Room's atmosphere a little, but even I can see that there was some sort of shadow behind Elizabeth's eyes. It made me feel a little uneasy, and some questions started popping up in my head besides the obvious 'why am I here'. I greeted Margaret and Elizabeth back, and voiced my concerns.

"No, I have not completed my mission," said Elizabeth, with a sigh. "I am here because I have discovered something which I have to tell my sister and you."

Something in Elizabeth's voice worried me. Whatever it is she found, was it dangerous? Did they need my help to take care of whatever it was? I unconsciously tensed up. Of course, Igor must already know. But as usual, he never discloses anything to the rest of us, so I never expect him to. And since Margaret is still an attendant of the Velvet Room, it'd probably be up to Elizabeth and I to take care of this thing. Of course, my friends from Inaba would want to do their part to help too, and I'd have little choice but to let them do so.

Margaret must have figured out what I was thinking, but to my surprise, she gave me an expression I've never seen before.

"Sometimes I forget that you're you," said Margaret with a bitter smile, her eyes unable to meet my own. "I tried everything I could, but…"

Margaret's voice slowly died out. I felt something heavy burden my heart, and I was struck by a moment of panic. Did something happen to everyone? I, stood up, ready to forcefully leave the Velvet Room and either catch a train or drive to Inaba before Igor's voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Yes, it seems that you are still the same guest that graced this room from those years back," said Igor, with an indiscernible emotion. "Tell me, do you trust your friends?"

Without even a moment's doubt, I told him that I trust them with my life.

"Of course, but what I would like to know is whether your trust runs deeper than that," said Igor.

Confused, I looked at both Elizabeth and Margaret questioningly, but both of them seemed unable to return my gaze. I asked Igor whether everyone was okay or not.

"They are fine," said Margaret, answering my question. "Everyone besides your Detective Prince is still in the small town you love, and every last one of them is thriving."

Of course, she didn't need to tell me the second part. Despite having lived away from them for quite a while, I have always remained in contact with them, visiting every once in a while. Our friendship is as strong as ever, and no distance could ever change that. Naoto especially, because over the years we have become much closer than friends, and I now share a different type of bond with her than with that of the other girls. Relieved to hear that they were okay, I sat down. But there was still something strange tugging at my heart, so I asked about Mitsuru-san and the others.

"They too, are fine," said Elizabeth with a smile. "They are all doing their bests in their own way."

I was again relieved to hear that. After making sure that nothing happened to anyone, even Sho, I found myself satisfied but still confused. If nothing was wrong with anyone, why was I brought here?

"While it is never easy to trust another with your life, it is even more difficult to entrust something more important," said Igor. "What you should ask yourself is, would you entrust those you love with the world?"

The world?

Of course I would. I know my friends would do whatever it takes for their home to be kept safe, and I told him so with no hesitation. But what Elizabeth said next was what shocked me into a long silence.

And when she said it, there were no thoughts running through my mind.

It took a while for me to recover, but that didn't change how shocked and confused I was after hearing that. When I came to, I saw Margaret looking out the window, and Elizabeth making a pained expression at me. Igor's expression did not change, but there was no smile on his face.

"I'm afraid that there is no mystery for you to solve this time," said Igor, in a strangely solemn voice. "But this is a duty that we can only entrust to you."

"If you accept this task, then the world as you know it will cease to be," said Margaret. "Those you have forged a bond with will also be burdened by it, but that is a necessary sacrifice."

"Should you refuse this task, then the world as you know it will cease to be," said Elizabeth. "However, the entire world shall be burdened by your choice, but again, that would be a necessary sacrifice."

What is this? There's obviously some kind of heavy task that I was given a choice to accept or refuse, but what's this about others being burdened by it?

Sensing my confusion, Igor began to explain what my task entails, and what kind of consequences it would lead to. At first, I was shocked. I was told what would happen, but I found myself unable to accept it for a while. I just couldn't believe what was happening, and what I needed to do to restrain it. A whole bunch of emotions went through my brain; despair, panic, hopelessness… but my mind eventually returned at full force, and with it, my determination.

I opened my hand and summoned Izanagi's card. My Persona… a side to myself that became one of my most reliable partners in battle. It seems that we would have to part for a while. Quickly thinking back to everything Izanagi and I had gone through, I held his card to my heart and felt it dissipate into thin air.

It was indeed a very heavy task. But I had to do it.

"I know that you must be confused," said Margaret, approaching me with a face full of emotion. "If things were any different, then I myself would insist that you not accept it."

Margaret sat next to me and brushed my hair aside. There was a look of intense sadness on her face. To my surprise, the beautiful and mature lady I have worked with for over a year was now close to tears.

"And you don't need to accept, you know?" said Margaret, with a pleading voice, her hands holding onto one of mine. "The Velvet Room is disconnected from your world; should you so desire, you can just choose to safely remain here."

I was somewhat glad to see that our relationship after all this time has not deteriorated; that she would sacrifice so much for me just as I would for her, and it was kind of flattering. But deep down, she knows that I could never agree to that. Holding her shoulder in an effort to comfort her, I politely declined.

Margaret seemed surprised for a second, but after a while, she managed to regain her composure.

"Of course, you would never be that selfish," said Margaret, taking a deep breath. "You never change, do you?"

I apologized once more as I agreed to her. Margaret let out a chuckle, and after taking another deep breath, she turned back into the dependable Margaret I remember so fondly from my time in Inaba.

"You truly are cruel, agreeing to leave like that so easily," said Margaret, back to her usual self. "But if this is truly the path that you have chosen to follow, then it is my duty as an observer to simply nod to it. No matter what you do, I have the utmost confidence that you will follow it through to the end."

I quickly thanked her, and with the picture of Margaret's smiling face in mind, I turned back to look at Elizabeth and Igor. Elizabeth was smiling as per her usual self, and so was Igor. It seems that my determination had been able to reach out to them in some way.

"I am afraid that you do not have time to inform your friends of this decision," said Igor. "If you agree to this, then we should begin right away."

"I will be the one to lead you to your destination," said Elizabeth. "But only after my sister decides to let go of your hand."

I looked at my hand at Elizabeth's teasing, and sure enough, Margaret was holding it with her own. Margaret, however, seemed unaffected.

"I will not let go until the very end, sister," said Margaret in her usual professional voice. "I will go with him, all the way to the end. I want to be able to support him and his decision."

As Margaret said that, I quickly thought back to my friends. Although I feel really guilty for doing this, but I trust them to be able to do what needs to be done. Standing up, with Margaret still holding on, I signaled to Igor and Elizabeth that I was ready.

I'm sorry, everyone, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to be bothering you a lot for a while, even more than the usual.

Be strong for me, okay?


	2. Shattering Reality

The young, brown-haired man sneezed as he walked through an aisle of refrigerated vegetables. He's never liked the acute smell of celery, but as an assistant manager of this establishment, he's learned to deal with it.

"You okay, senpai?" asked the person he was walking with, a man younger than him by a year yet was somehow able to look around a decade older. His black hair was parted at the side and his glasses reflecting the ceiling's tube lights as he carried crates upon crates of various food items.

"Yeah, I'm fine," said the brown-haired man. "Just, y'know. Celery."

"Yeah, celery is kinda shit," said the other man. "I remember Yu-senpai being able to do wonders with it, though."

"Yu is Yu," said the brown haired man, with a sigh of resignation.

Although he might've made a pained expression, the brown-haired man didn't actually feel that way. He's always admired his partner, and was once even jealous of him, but after a long series of events he was finally able to think of himself as equal to him. But damn, is there nothing his partner couldn't do?

"It's happening tomorrow, senpai," said the other man, putting the crates down as they finally reached their destination. "You planned out whatever we're gonna do yet?"

"More or less, yeah. Takezawa, take the stuff from these crates and start sorting them out, will you?" said the brown-haired man, calling out to one of the part-timers. "We're still around that age, so I guess having a little fun up in the mountains and at the beach would be fun. Then maybe we could catch a train to Port Island and hang out there again, just like old times."

"That's what I'm talking about, senpai!" said the other man, patting his senpai hard on the back.

"Dammit, Kanji!" said the brown-haired man, trying to regain his balance. "Don't you still have some work to do?"

The other man, Kanji Tatsumi, mumbled an apology and started moving back towards another pile of crates.

The brown-haired man was still in disbelief from when Kanji, one of his best friends, suddenly came to him and asked for help in getting him a job. Although he did have some reservations about having someone as formerly notorious as Kanji, with his brash attitude and rough language, work with him, he couldn't just reject one of his friends like that. Although he did give him a strict warning not to screw around and scare the customers.

"Don't you worry, Yosuke-senpai!" cried Kanji in reply to his warning, standing up from his seat and making a supposedly manly pose. "I'll promise you this as a man; I won't go around screwing people."

After telling him that this is the kind of thing he was telling him about, the brown-haired man, Yosuke Hanamura, resignedly gave him a job carrying things around the store. After all, although he felt compelled to give Kanji a job, there was no way he could trust him with any really important stuff. But despite being carried away sometimes, Kanji was able to do his job pretty well, so maybe he didn't need to accompany Kanji around to make sure nothing really terrible happens anymore. Although he'd much rather be safe than sorry.

Passing the TV aisle as they walked back to the entrance to pick up more unpacked crates, Yosuke and Kanji somehow found themselves stopping in front of a certain 42-inch widescreen TV. There was nothing really special about this TV feature-wise; it's becoming a sort of outdated model since four new ones have been released by this brand that were bigger and better, so really the TV was just in there gathering dust. It was a miracle that his dad chose not to throw this out in the hopes that someone would still want to buy it, although the price has been driven down considerably as a result.

However, to both Yosuke and Kanji, as well as their other friends, the TV still holds a lot of sentimental value to them. After all, this was the TV that they used to go into the 'other' world to try and solve the murder cases that happened so long back.

"Missin' the old days, huh, senpai?" asked Kanji, plopping down on the floor and sitting cross-legged in front of the TV. Although he wanted to tell Kanji off for that, Yosuke couldn't find it in his heart to do so, and decided to join him in sitting down instead.

"Hmm." said Kanji. "I thought you might've matured a bit, but you're still the same old Yosuke-senpai who can't handle responsibility well, aren't you?"

"Shut up," said Yosuke, putting his hands on the floor behind him to support him so that he didn't need to sit up straight. He's been working overtime for the past couple of days to deal with the various stubborn employees, and he's haven't had a single good rest at all in that time. "Though it has been a while since we've last seen him, huh?"

"You talkin' about Yu-senpai?" asked Kanji, going an extra step and just lying down on the floor in front of the TV. Yosuke was worried for a second, but after remembering that nobody ever passes through this side of the TV aisle, he choise to join Kanji instead. "Yeah, it has been a while. But that won't matter anymore come tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," said Yosuke, breathing out heavily. It's getting close to closing time now, and since today would be the last day before his appointed long break, he could finally go hang out with everyone tomorrow. Plus, those from out of the city like Yu and Rise are coming back too, so everything's coming together for Yosuke for once.

_Yeah, Yu and Rise and Naoto are coming back tomorrow, _thought Yosuke, getting visibly excited. _How long has it been, like four months? Damn, I didn't think we could stay apart that long._

A lot's happened since the murder case, but Yosuke was glad that the group was still able to remain so strongly together. They always manage to meet up once in a while, although one or two maybe absent at times, and Yosuke would always feel excited for and have fun during every single one of those meetings. Whenever they were sitting together, talking and laughing like old times, Yosuke really felt as if they were all back in high school, and that nothing has changed at all. And perhaps it hasn't. He still hasn't broken out of the habit of calling Yu his 'partner'.

And when something actually changes, like when Yu announced that he was dating Naoto, the surprise would last for days. Of course, the surprise would remain on their faces, with a slight tinge of despair on some of them, so Yu and Naoto awkwardly tried to make us forget that the announcement ever happened. Although it was a really strange meeting, Yosuke still felt as if they all had fun in its own way.

Kanji and Teddie didn't take the news too bad, though. Teddie was, well, Teddie, so he would just quickly hit on other girls in the guise of 'healing the wound Nao-chan made in my heart'. It took a little longer for Kanji to accept it, but Kanji's huge crush on Naoto had mostly disappeared by then, so it wasn't much of a problem for him either.

The girls took the news much more… intensely, so to speak. Rise really had a thing going on for Yu, so she was hit the hardest. She managed to make a face and cry a bunch of times, but whenever Yu would go out of his way to comfort her, she would reveal her farce and return to the normal Rise. It's probably just her way of saying that she fully accepts and allows their dating, but decided that she wouldn't lose.

Chie and Yukiko would stare at Yu's and Naoto's interactions (which were really jealousy-inducingly adorable) blankly, and no one could tell what they were thinking at those times. At one point where Yu and Naoto almost kissed, Yosuke could swear that Yukiko and Chie were ready to unleash their full power at them, and somehow managed to stop that scene from happening along with the other guys. After they told Naoto what happened later on, Naoto admitted to being embarrassed that a former ace detective like her would miss details like that. Lucky for everyone, they've stopped being jealous now.

"Oh," said Yosuke, suddenly remembering something. "Naoto isn't an ace detective anymore, isn't she?"

"Uh, yeah?" said Kanji, looking at Yosuke in confusion. "It's been some time since then, Yosuke-senpai."

That's right. Being the 'Detective Prince' was one of Naoto's most definable points, so her telling everyone that she would quit being a detective to go to a university was kind of a shock. But as it turned out, it went really well for her, going to Tokyo University which even Yu didn't end up getting into. And when they asked her what she was going to do next, she just shared a short glance with Yu, looked down, and blushed heavily.

Rise's change of occupation was a huge surprise too. Having been a teen idol, growing up was a real pain for her career, and she eventually found that she could not act as she used to long before. She decided to quit while she was ahead, with no objection from the management like before, and came back to help out with her grandmother's tofu shop while she was between jobs. And after weighing her options a little, Rise apparently decided that her speaking skills could help her become a lawyer. So after some training from Yu in truth-seeking, Rise managed to get into a really good law school, and was now on her way to graduating.

_Damn, I'm jealous._

The others didn't go to lines of work that were too surprising, however. Yukiko had been really close to inheriting the inn for some time now, although her mother insisted that she would do as much as she could before handing it over to the still-young Yukiko. Chie, like Yukiko, chose not to go to a university and just joined the nearest police academy instead, and was now an active member of the Inaba Police Force. Kanji also chose not to go to a university, and after graduating high school decided to help his mother with running their textile shop, although he'd thought that he could help support the family a little more by coming and working at Junes a bit. Teddie was still working as Junes' mascot like before, although he chose to move in with Yosuke even when Yosuke moved out of his parents' house, and Yosuke chose not to go to university too, begging his dad to give him a job as an assistant manager of the Inaba's Junes branch instead.

The rest of the team's friends went on their own ways too, although most of them are still in Inaba. Daisuke was now playing for the local team, his head set on joining the nationals; Kou had decided to continue the family business, although he still played a bit of basketball on the side; Ai was now a fashion columnist of the Okina newspaper despite still living in Inaba; Yumi joined a drama troupe that travels around Japan; Ayane, with some help from Yu, managed to start a small musical instruments shop in the Shopping District, and Naoki had managed to restart his family's liquor store with Junes' (really, it was mostly Yosuke, since he felt compelled to) help, much to his dad's surprise and amazement.

And of course, Yu's little cousin Nanako was now topping her middle school, which she claims was all thanks to Yu's teaching her, and Marie (or Mariko, as she is known to the public now) was still the whole town's favourite weatherman with her eternal ball-like energy and cute demeanor that was unlike when the team first met her.

And it's not like their appearances didn't change too. Besides Teddie and Yu, everyone really did look a bit more mature; Chie grew her hair down to a little bit below the shoulder, and always wears the police uniform everywhere now (tidiness depending on occasion); Yukiko's face and body grew more mature and defined, furthering her 'cool beauty' look; Naoto didn't look too different from before, although Naoto did grow her hair a little and started putting feminine clothes in her wardrobe (courtesy of Rise and Yu); Rise somehow managed to keep that youthful look, although her curves started getting more defined, making her somewhat like a much younger-looking Yukiko, Kanji didn't change much compared to his change in the year after the case was solved, although he started wearing his old jackets again, and Yosuke had cut his hair as short as Kanji, and removed the headphones and casual clothing for a more business-like look.

Yosuke couldn't help but feel that as much as things have changed, nothing actually did. Everyone was still close to one another, and Yosuke was glad for that.

"Ah, look at the time!" said Yosuke, glancing at his watch. "The three from the city should be arriving soon, so go ahead and move the last of the crates, while I-"

"Yosukeeeeeeeeee!" cried a scream from his right. Before Yosuke could react, the source of the scream managed to tackle him and topple him over, making Yosuke crash painfully onto the floor. After adjusting to his new position, Yosuke managed to focus on the thing that crashed into him; a big, round, furry bear suit.

This was one of the former Investigation Team's valued members, Teddie. Also one of the more annoying ones.

"It's time, Yosuke, it's time!" cried Teddie, attacking Yosuke with his paws. "We have to go now, or we'd be late for Sensei!"

"Yeah, Teddie, I know," said Yosuke, before grunting and punching Teddie away from me. His costume bounced once before he managed to stand back up and look at me in anger. "You did a good job ushering the customers around today, so I guess I can let you come with to pick everyone up."

"Yay!" said Teddie, quickly removing his costume, grabbing Yosuke's hand, and running towards the exit, leaving Kanji to take care of the costume as well as the rest of the crates. "C'mon, Yosuke, pick up the pace!"

Yosuke and Teddie quickly ran to Yosuke's car (which, of course, he bought second-hand), got inside it, and drove away to the Amagi Inn. The ride was short and uneventful besides Teddie's usual peace disturbance, and they were able to get there in no time at all.

"Yuki-chaaaaaan!" called Teddie as he entered loudly into the Inn. The guests in the living room were, of course, surprised to see a blonde-haired, blue-eyed foreigner come and call the Inn Manager's daughter so casually, so Yosuke shoved Teddie back and flashed a nervous smile at the guests, who then continued to do whatever it was they were doing before.

"Ah, is that Teddie and Yosuke?" came a voice from up the stairs. And as soon as Yosuke and Teddie looked up, they saw Yukiko and Chie climb down the stairs.

"Yo!" said Chie, greeting Teddie (who replied with a "Chie-chan!" and a hug, which she managed to avoid by punching him in the face), and Yosuke. "So how did Kanji do today, Yosuke?"

"Yes, I was curious about that too," said Yukiko, gesturing for Yosuke to start moving out into the car. "After all, it _is_ Kanji-kun."

"He did pretty good," said Yosuke, smiling. "As in, he didn't cause too much trouble."

Just before getting in the car, however, Yukiko hesitated.

"Are we all going to fit in here?" asked Yukiko. "If Kanji-kun is coming, then…"

"Nah, I already got the details straight with Dojima-san," said Chie, opening the door and getting inside the car. "He and Nanako are going to go and see welcome them too, so I'm guessing that Yu and Naoto-kun would want to go with them."

"Ah, that's right," said Yukiko. "Dojima-san's already more-or-less welcomed Naoto-kun into the family, right?"

"Ah, no fair, sensei!" whined Teddie, who somehow managed to squeeze between Yukiko and Chie. "Grabbing hold of Nao-chan's heart like that!"

"Hah, I remember when Dojima-san first heard that Yu managed to get a girlfriend," said Yosuke, the three of them completely ignoring Teddie. "He was worried that he might get his heart broken, though he himself almost got a heart attack seeing Naoto coming to his house dressed like a girl."

"Yeah, it was super funny," said Chie. "And Nanako had to get him to his futon to recover from the shock too!"

Continuing on with talks of memories, Yosuke drove the car back to Junes and picked up Kanji, who was standing in front of the store with his leather jacket on, and then drove to Yasoinaba Station.

"We're late, Yosuke!" cried Teddie, hitting Yosuke's shoulder with his paw.

"I know, Teddie- Stop hitting me!" cried Yosuke, who was struggling to keep his concentration on the road. Yosuke has always been the type to easily get distracted, and that was when Yukiko and Chie started thinking that perhaps Yosuke shouldn't have been the one chosen to drive everyone there. But since it was too late to change anything, they just settled with holding Teddie back and stroking his fur, much to Teddie's enjoyment. And sure enough, the rest of the trip was much more peaceful.

Thinking about it, Yosuke realized that the team has never had a truly quiet moment together. They were always very, very loud, and whenever it starts to get quiet, there will always be someone (most probably Teddie or Kanji) to break it. As a result, Yosuke had never had the chance to enjoy Inaba as it is with everyone, until that night. As they drove through it, Yosuke, for the first time in a while, felt truly blessed to be able to live in this beautiful town with everyone, and sure enough the others were thinking the same thing too.

"I never noticed that the fields could look so pretty at night," said Chie in the sentimental voice barely anyone has heard her use.

"It is a beautiful night," said Yukiko, "and YOSUKE-KUN STOP THE CAR!"

Hearing Yukiko's panicked voice, Yosuke looked up, and seeing that they were approaching two human figures at high speed, he immediately slammed the brakes and made the car swerve right, driving it off the road and into the fields. The car hit hard ground first, and flipped backwards to everyone's screaming. The car flew into the fields, tossing and turning, until it finally landed back into the mud.

"Crap!" screamed Yosuke. "What the hell was that? Who were those people?"

"I dunno, senpai, but first things first," said Kanji, rather calmly for someone who was almost involved in a fatal car accident, "we gotta get out of this car first."

"Th-that's right," said Yosuke, putting all his strength into pushing the door open. "Everyone okay?"

There was an affirmative sound from everyone in the car as they struggled to push away the mud gathered under their door. After some time, Kanji was able to get his door open, and both him and Yosuke managed to get out of the car and open the door for the others.

As soon as Yosuke stepped backwards and took a look at the condition of his car, he fell to his knees.

"Yeah, it looks like you're in some deep shit," said Kanji, putting a hand of his shoulder.

"There goes a few months' worth of paychecks…" said Yosuke, his voice breaking.

"There, there, Yosuke…" said Teddie, also putting a hand on Yosuke's shoulder. "No matter what happens, you'll always have your nur-"

"NOT A GOOD TIME, TEDDIE!" screamed Yosuke, before going further into despair.

"We should go back," said Yukiko apologetically, grabbing Yosuke's hand and pulling him up, much to his reluctance. She then gave him a hug and patted his back. "There, there."

"Yeah," said Chie, a hint of anger in her voice. "I've got a thing or two to say to whoever decided to stand in the middle of the street this late at night."

With a little more encouragement, Yosuke was finally persuaded to move, and in about a few minutes, they managed to reach the road they were travelling. It was dark, so at first no one was able to see the people standing there earlier, but as they moved closer a streetlight was able to illuminate the same two human figures from before.

They moved to the road and approached them, and they stopped as soon as they heard a voice.

"Naoto-kun!"

He recognized that voice.

"It's Rise-chan!" said Teddie. "Rise-chan! What are you-"

Before Teddie could reach them, however, he stopped. Yosuke moved closer to see what was happening, and he could finally see the other person.

"Nao…to…?"

Something's not right.

Yosuke went to take a closer look, and he didn't expect to see what he saw at all. He stopped dead.

Naoto-kun was looking up at the streetlight, crying and screaming with the most heartbreaking voice he's heard, flailing her arms as if struggling to run to it.

And holding her back was Rise-chan, screaming Naoto's name and sobbing uncontrollably into Naoto's clothes, hugging her with all her might and with a desperation no normal person could ever have.

The others were behind him, confused at why he stopped. He continued to watch the scene in stunned silence, watching the two helpless girls, one trying to reach the streetlight and one trying to hold her back.

Yosuke didn't understand why they were acting this way, and he knew that the only way he could understand was if he turned to the streetlight to look. But he was afraid; he knew that what he will find would be something he never wanted to see.

"NO!" screamed Naoto, her voice breaking. "NO, LET ME GO! HE'S-"

"Naoto-kun, please...!" cried Rise, her voice interrupted by sobs. "Please, just…"

Yosuke felt as if he couldn't bear it anymore. Just what exactly is causing his two friends so much pain?

With much dread in his heart, he slowly turned towards the streetlight.

On the floor right below the streetlight was a pair of shattered, gray-framed glasses.

"Shit. No…"

He knew what he was going to see if he looked up, but he couldn't accept it. As if trying to defy his own expectations, and to convince himself that what he thought was wrong and could never be right no matter what, he looked up.

And he immediately wished he hadn't.

"No… Th-This can't…"

He saw a limp body hanging on the light.

A limp body that had his best friend's face.


	3. The Faded Sunlight

"You're looking really spiffy today, Kanji-kun!" said Chie, her voice full of condescending amusement.

"Shut up already, will you?" said Kanji, his face hot as he arranged his tie for the thirteenth time since he left the house.

Kanji had made his job interview as early as possible on purpose, to avoid anyone else in Inaba seeing him dressed formally. Armed with a white shirt and tie, his hair styled more than usual, he was just preparing to run all the way, before Chie caught him in the middle of her patrol. Chie being Chie, she couldn't stop laughing at Kanji's new style, attracting the attention of more of Inaba's early birds. Lucky for him, nobody could recognize him in that get-up.

And as an apology of sorts, Chie had offered to take him wherever he wanted to go with her patrol car, although Kanji was fairly sure that she was only using that as an opportunity to pry even further.

"So the Amagi Inn, huh?" asked Chie, driving surprisingly carefully. "What position are you applying for?"

Kanji really didn't want to answer that question. But since he knew Chie wouldn't shut up if he didn't tell her, he hesitantly decided to answer anyway.

"…Secretary," he said, in as quiet a voice as possible.

"Huh?" said Chie, apparently not hearing.

"Secretary!" repeated Kanji with an annoyed voice. "I thought I could be Yukiko-senpai's secretary so I could learn a thing or two about managing businesses and all that shit. And I thought it'd pay well too."

To his surprise, Chie was able to stifle her laugh. After a while of her focusing all her effort into doing so, she finally managed to look at Kanji, giving him a meaningful look.

"So our little Kanji is finally acting on his own future!" said Chie, following with an exaggerated sigh. "Good for you, Kanji-kun!"

"Please, just shut up, Chie-senpai!" said Kanji, his face turning red again.

"No, I'm serious," said Chie, still smiling softly, though her face has become much more serious. "I'm really proud of you. And… And I'm sure he would've been proud of you too."

Kanji felt his heart stop beating for a moment.

"You really think so?"

"I know so," said Chie, stopping the car right in front of the entrance to the Inn. "He might not say much, but anyone can tell that he really cared for you, y'know? You were like the blunt, simple, aggressive little brother he never had."

Kanji chose to ignore that smart comment about him. Chie was never the type of person who was ever able to be completely serious when talking, so Kanji knew she only added that to lighten the mood a little. And he was very thankful for that.

"I know," said Kanji, taking off his seatbelt and exiting the car. "Thanks for the ride, Chie-senpai."

"No problem," said Chie, beaming at him. "And look out for Yukiko for me, will you?."

Kanji smiled back, before turning around to face the Inn. He heard the patrol car drive away, and then sighed deeply.

It's been three weeks since Yu's funeral, and Kanji found it difficult to forget it and everything that happened then.

Seeing all those people that came to the funeral of some dude in his early twenties really proved just how much he had affected other people's lives, including his own. A bunch of people from Yu's childhood came, along with his friends from his hometown, as well as his university and work friends. Mitsuru and all the others came too (which came as a surprise, as one of Japan's most powerful people and her posse including two robot girls), and most of Kanamin's Kitchen came as well (which was obviously a surprise to everyone too- how the hell was this unassuming guy good friends with both Rise Kujikawa as well as Kanamin's Kitchen?). A guestlist as diverse as this would usually be a recipe for disaster, but Kanji was pleased to see that everyone, even Junpei-san, behaved very well.

Three people was invited to speak for the proceedings: Yu's dad, Mitsuru, and Yosuke, with Mitsuru's speech being surprisingly touching, spoken with a deep sense of understanding of loss. However, Yosuke was never able to finish his speech, running away in the middle of it.

_To this day, we still don't know where Yosuke-senpai is, _thought Kanji. _I did offer to go and find him, but Chie-senpai told me to leave him be for a while and let him gather his thoughts. I trust her judgment._

Furthermore, Naoto fell into a shock-induced coma after they had found Yu's body, and had only woken up recently. There was no damage to her cognition or memory, but she had locked herself in her room for two weeks now, not speaking to anybody and only accepting bits of food and drink at a time. Kanji had gone with Rise to check on her, and Rise trying to get Naoto to talk to her was one of the saddest things he had ever seen. Rise, who was now staying in Inaba to take care of things, is still going there every day to try and talk to her, but Kanji hadn't dared to go back since.

Chie and Yukiko was able to go back to work after a while, although Yukiko never was able to move on like Chie did; she had been burying herself in work to the point where she no longer had time for anybody. And Teddie, to everyone's surprise, was able to move on too. Since Yosuke went missing, Teddie had moved in with Kanji, and was now working hard in Junes to try and get enough money for his own place, so that he can try and 'bring home some hot babes'. Neither Kanji nor his mother minded; Teddie was very helpful around the house.

Of course, it had occurred to Kanji that Teddie might be in denial about Yu's death, but he learned that it was nothing of the sort. He remembered Teddie's words clearly: "It was Sensei who taught me to always move forward, no matter what happens. Of course I'm sad that I'll never get to talk to him and play with him like before, but my memory of him will remain with me forever, and that's what counts in the end, right?"

Those words had been what convinced Kanji to quit being a coolie at Junes and try to move forward and become self-sufficient. As a result, he now made it his goal to move out of the family home by three months' time, and he thought that this was a good way to start. He managed to get Yukiko on the phone and convince her to give him an interview for a post as her secretary shortly after, and here he was now.

"Well," said Kanji, "here goes nothing."


End file.
